


More Than a Name

by sherlockislovely



Category: Artemis Fowl - Eoin Colfer
Genre: Bittersweet, Friendship, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Mild Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-28
Updated: 2017-08-28
Packaged: 2018-12-21 01:06:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 882
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11933127
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sherlockislovely/pseuds/sherlockislovely
Summary: Years after Artemis dies, Holly is still reminded of him. Sometimes the reminder is rather obvious. Future fic.





	More Than a Name

More Than a Name

The world had continued on after the death of Artemis Fowl - his final death, that is. The birds still sang, the fish still swam, and the sun still rose in the morning. Not in Haven, though, obviously. It had been 15 years, and Holly had mostly moved on. There were days when she woke up with an ache in her heart, but a day would go by that she didn't even think about him at all.

It had taken time, but she eventually stopped crying every time she looked at his contact picture on her communicator (which she never could get herself to delete). She had even stopped flinching at his name. Which was good because it was starting to look she had a twitch.

Given that a substantial portion of The People's 21st century dealings involved Artemis Fowl, it was hard to avoid the subject of the genius. History books mentioned his name, actors portrayed him in movies, and Holly swore she heard the name whispered in the halls of police plaza. The words weren't always nice. At first, she had been angry. _How dare they? How dare they disgrace his name like that?_ But she didn't mind as much anymore. It was only a reminder of all he had done, the impact that he had made. She knew they didn't mean anything by it, really.

Not only had Artemis Fowl been the most well-known human in fairy history, he was also quite popular to those outside the LEP, considering he saved the world multiple times, even sacrificing himself when he had been younger. In his old age, he had even funded a few schools in the Haven and Atlantis. He was a real star in the eyes of the public. Practically a folk hero.

Currently, Holly was walking down the street, her eyes focused down on her moving legs, and her hands shoved deep into her pockets. She was halfway between her apartment and Police Plaza, in a small shopping district that had emerged after the Great Techno Crash, aptly named Reboot Street. The elf turned her head up just in time to see a bright red ball bounce across the street. It rolled to a stop a few meters in front of her, followed by a young pixie. His stubby toddler arms were extended toward the ball, his hands grabbing at the air. His giggles echoed in Holly's ears as he remained blissfully unaware of the danger of running across the street imposed. The boy was almost to the sidewalk when Holly had reached the ball, picking it up.

"Come back here, Artemis!"

Holly snapped her head up, heart racing as she looked for the source of the proclamation. She saw a woman standing across the street, a half-worried, half-angry expression on her face. She was looking at the boy, who was getting closer and closer to Holly as he ran for the ball. Holly felt a small smile pull at the corners of her mouth, though her heart dropped. She kneeled to the boy's height as he came to a stop.

"Artemis, is it?" Holly asked, holding the ball out to him. He nodded shyly, reaching out hesitantly for the toy. "It's dangerous to run across the street like that. Though I suppose it was for something very important." She gave him a wink and the ball was lifted from her fingers, the child's shyness peeling away slightly. Holly looked across the street at the mother pixie, then back at the boy. She expected him to turn around and run back the way he had come, but he did something else instead. He reached for her hand.

"Go back?" He asked, pointing to the woman across the street with his free hand. Holly took a hesitant breath, looking down at the small fingers clutching her pinky. She looked both ways on the street, finding that no vehicles were coming from either side.

"Yes, go back." She said, releasing the grasp and giving him a nod. The boy - Artemis - paused, then ran back across the street, getting scooped up by the dark-haired pixie across the way. Holly held her gaze on him for a moment, then turned back the direction she was going. Her feet dragged slightly and kicked up dirt behind her. She looked up and smiled sadly at the roof of the cave.

.

"So, people are naming their kids after Artemis now?" Holly said as she sat down across from Foaly in the break room. The centaur looked up from his holo-tablet, the light from the device reflecting in his eyes.

"Are they? I hadn't noticed." Foaly replied in a tone that implied he _had_ , in fact, noticed. Holly shook her head.

"I'm never going to be rid of him, am I?" She joked, raising a cup of sim coffee to her lips. The centaur set the tablet down.

"Like you would want to." Foaly said sarcastically. Holly looked down at the mug resting in her hands. She studied the LEP logo on the side and paid special attention to the warmth that it left on her fingers. She thought briefly about Artemis: his piercing blue eyes, his smart mouth, and his grave, miles above them on the surface.

"No, I suppose not."


End file.
